The greater part of the labor9 was performed by the many skilled workmen now employed in his furnaces and forges. He was utterly10 regardless of cost, obligations; of money itself. Alexander had always been impatient at the mere11 material fact of wealth, of the possession and the accumulation of sheer gold. To him it was nothing more than a lever by which he moved men and things; it was a ladder that carried him above the unnoticed and unnotable. He could always get money, at need, from men or iron; to debts he never gave a thought—when they fell due they were discharged or carried forward.
His reason for finishing his dwelling with such elaboration was obscure. Veneada had laughed at him, speaking of small Hulingses, but he harbored no concrete purpose of marriage; there was even no dominant12 feminine figure in his thoughts. Perhaps faintly at times he caught the odor of a goya lily; but that was probably due to the fact that lilies were already blooming in the circular conservatory13 of highly colored glass attached to his veranda14.
The greater part of the house was darkened, shrouded15 in linen16. He would see, when walking through the hall, mysterious and shadowy vistas17, lengthened18 endlessly in the long mirrors, of dusky carpet and alabaster19 and ormolu, the faint glitter of the prisms hung on the mantel lamps. Clocks would strike sonorously20 in the depths of halls, with the ripple21 of cathedral chimes. He had a housekeeper22, a stout23 person in oiled curls, and a number of excessively humble24 negro servants. Alexander Hulings got from all this an acute pleasure. It, too, was a mark of his success.
He had, below, on the public road, a small edifice of one room, which formed his office, and there he saw the vast number of men always consulting with him; he never took them above to his house. And when they dined with him it was at the hotel, newly built by the packet station on the canal—functions flooded with the prodigal25 amounts of champagne26 Hulings thought necessary to his importance.
Most of his days were spent in his road wagon27, in which he traveled to Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Philadelphia, where he had properties or interests. In the cities of his associates he also avoided their homes, and met them in hotels, discussed the terms of business in bars or public parlors28. With women of position he was at once indifferent and ill at ease, constantly certain that he was not appearing to good advantage, and suspecting their asides and enigmatic smiles. He was laboriously29, stiffly polite, speaking in complimentary30 flourishes that sometimes ended in abrupt31 constraint32. At this, afterward33, he would chafe34, and damn the superior airs of women.
He had returned from such an expedition to Wheeling, and was sitting in his office, when a vehicle pulled up before his door. Deliberate feet approached, and John Wooddrop entered. The latter, Alexander realized enviously35, was an excessively handsome old man; he had a commanding height and a square, highly colored countenance36, with dose white sideburns and vigorous silver hair. His manner, too, was assured and easy. He greeted Alexander Hulings with a keen, open smile.
"Everything is splendid here!" he proclaimed. "I looked in that chafery down stream, and the metal was worked like satin. Fine weather for the furnaces—rain's ugly; a furnace is like a young girl."
Hulings wondered—contained and suspicious—what the other wanted. Wooddrop, though they passed each other frequently on the road, had not saluted37 him since the completion of Glory Furnace. He thought for a moment that already the older man was feeling the pinch of fuel scarcity38 and that he had come to beg for timber. In such a case Alexander Hulings decided39 coldly that he would not sell Wooddrop an ell of forest. In addition to the fact that the complete success of one or the other depended ultimately on his rival's failure, he maintained a personal dislike of John Wooddrop; he had never forgotten the humiliation40 forced on him long before, in the dining room of the packet, the Hit or Miss; he could not forgive Wooddrop's preeminence41 in the iron field. The latter was a legend of the manufacture of iron.
However, any idea of the other's begging privilege was immediately banished42 by John Wood-drop's equable bearing. He said:
"I want to speak to you, Hulings, about a rather delicate matter. In a way it is connected with my daughter, Gisela. You saw her, I believe, at the Springs."
Alexander Hulings somberly inclined his head.
"Of course," Wooddrop continued, "I heard about the difficulty you had with that Louisiana bravo. I understand you acted like a man of spirit and were completely exonerated43; in fact, I had some small part in quashing legal complications. This was done not on your account, but because of Gisela, who confided44 to me that she held herself in blame. Mr. Hulings," he said gravely, "my feeling for my daughter is not the usual affection of parent for child. My wife is dead. Gisela—— But I won't open a personal subject with you. I spoke45 as I did merely, in a way, to prepare you for what follows. My daughter felt that she did you a painful wrong; and I have come, in consequence, to offer you my good will. I propose that we end our competition and proceed together, for the good of both. Consolidated46, we should inevitably47 control the iron situation in our state; you are younger, more vigorous than myself, and I have a certain prestige. Sir, I offer you the hand of friendly cooperation."
Alexander Hulings' gaze narrowed as he studied the man before him. At first, he had searched for an ulterior motive48, need, in Wooddrop's proposal; but he quickly saw that the proposal had been completely stated. Illogically he thought of black ringleted hair and glazed49 muslin; he heard the echo of water dripping from a stone urn8. Lost in memories, he was silent, for so long that John Wood-drop palpably grew impatient. He cleared his throat sharply; but Hulings didn't shift a muscle. Alexander was thinking now of the order he had filled the first summer at Tubal Cain, of his brutal50 labor and bitter, deferred51 aspirations52. His rise, alone, had been at the price of ceaseless struggle; it was not yet consummated53; but it would be—it must, and still alone. Nothing should rob him of the credit of his accomplishment54; no person coupled with him might reduce or share his triumph. What he said sounded inexcusably harsh after the other's open manner.
"Only," he said, "only if the amalgamated55 industries bear my name—the Alexander Hulings Ironworks."
John Wooddrop's face darkened as he comprehended the implied insult to his dignity and position. He rose, so violently thrusting back the chair in which he had been sitting, that it fell with a clatter56.
"You brass57 trumpet58!" he ejaculated. "You intolerable little bag of vanity! Will you never see yourself except in a glass of flattery or intolerable self-satisfaction? It would be impossible to say which you inspire most, contempt or pity."
Strangely enough, Hulings didn't resent the language applied59 to him. He gazed at Wooddrop without anger. The other's noise, he thought, was but a symptom of his coming downfall. He was slowly but surely drawing the rope about the throat of Wooddrop's industries.
"Absolutely the last time," the other stuttered. "Now you can go to hell on your own high horse! Blinded by your own fatuousness—don't see where the country is running. You may impose on others, but I know your business, sir; and it's as hollow as a tin plate stove. The times will soon kick it in."
John Wooddrop stamped away from Hillings in a rage.
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1
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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pagodas
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| 塔，宝塔( pagoda的名词复数 ) | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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urn
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| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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16
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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17
vistas
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| 长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景 | |
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18
lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
alabaster
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| adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石 | |
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20
sonorously
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| adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；堂皇地；朗朗地 | |
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21
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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22
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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24
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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prodigal
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| adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的 | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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28
parlors
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| 客厅( parlor的名词复数 )； 起居室； （旅馆中的）休息室； （通常用来构成合成词）店 | |
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laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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30
complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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32
constraint
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| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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chafe
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| v.擦伤；冲洗；惹怒 | |
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enviously
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| adv.满怀嫉妒地 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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38
scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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39
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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40
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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41
preeminence
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| n.卓越,杰出 | |
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42
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
exonerated
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| v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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45
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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46
consolidated
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| a.联合的 | |
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47
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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48
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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49
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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50
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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51
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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52
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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53
consummated
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| v.使结束( consummate的过去式和过去分词 )；使完美；完婚；（婚礼后的）圆房 | |
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54
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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55
amalgamated
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| v.（使）（金属）汞齐化( amalgamate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）合并；联合；结合 | |
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56
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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57
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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58
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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59
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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